How To Increase Urine Volume
Urine volume is the easiest thing to control. You simply need to drink fluids!
Most people with kidney stones should aim for 3 liters of fluid intake per day. Of course, most of this fluid should be good ol water. However, feel free to mix it up with unsweetened flavored waters or make infused water at home with fresh or frozen fruit and/or fresh herbs.
Some people find smart water bottles useful to help them drink more. The HidrateSpark* water bottle actually tracks how much water you drink and reminds you to drink more by lighting up and connecting to an app on your phone.
Try to avoid drinks with too much added sugar such as regular lemonade, sweet tea, soda, punch, or fruit juice. A high sugar intake can contribute to more calcium in your urine, which is a risk factor for kidney stone formation.
Can Dogs Eat Eggplant Possibly
While eggplant isn’t toxic to dogs, it is a food that some dogs are allergic to. Your dog could eat raw or cooked eggplant, provided they don’t have an allergy. When giving your dog cooked eggplant, consider how the eggplant was prepared. Often it is prepared with oil, salt, and onion, or garlic, all of which are bad for your dog.
Pretzels Chips And Crackers
Ready-to-eat snack foods like pretzels, chips, and crackers tend to be lacking in nutrients and relatively high in salt.
Also, its easy to eat more than the recommended portion size of these foods, often leading to even greater salt intake than intended.
Whats more, if chips are made from potatoes, theyll contain a significant amount of potassium as well.
SUMMARY
Pretzels, chips, and crackers are easily consumed in large portions and tend to contain high amounts of salt. Additionally, chips made from potatoes provide a considerable amount of potassium.
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Packaged Instant And Premade Meals
Processed foods can be a major component of sodium in the diet.
Among these foods, packaged, instant, and premade meals are usually the most heavily processed and thus contain the most sodium.
Examples include frozen pizza, microwaveable meals, and instant noodles.
Keeping sodium intake to 2,300 mg per day may be difficult if youre eating highly processed foods regularly.
Heavily processed foods not only contain a large amount of sodium but also commonly lack nutrients .
SUMMARY
Packaged, instant, and premade meals are highly processed items that can contain very large amounts of sodium and lack nutrients. Its best to limit these foods on a renal diet.
Swiss chard, spinach, and beet greens are leafy green vegetables that contain high amounts of various nutrients and minerals, including potassium.
When served raw, the amount of potassium varies between 140290 mg per cup .
While leafy vegetables shrink to a smaller serving size when cooked, the potassium content remains the same.
For example, one-half cup of raw spinach will shrink to about 1 tablespoon when cooked. Thus, eating one-half cup of cooked spinach will contain a much higher amount of potassium than one-half cup of raw spinach.
Raw Swiss chard, spinach, and beet greens are preferable to cooked greens to avoid too much potassium.
However, moderate your intake of these foods, as theyre also high in oxalates. Among sensitive individuals, oxalates can increase the risk of kidney stones (
Different Types Of Kidney Stones
There is a considerable variety of kidney stones. Here are five well-known ones:
1. Calcium phosphate stones are common and easily dissolve in urine acidified by vitamin C.
2. Calcium oxalate stones are also common but they do not dissolve in acid urine. We will discuss this type further below.
3. Magnesium ammonium phosphate stones are much less common, often appearing after an infection. They dissolve in urine acidified by vitamin C.
4. Uric acid stones result from a problem metabolizing purines . They may form in a condition such as gout.
5. Cystine stones result from an hereditary inability to reabsorb cystine. Most children’s stones are this type, and these are rare.
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Foods That Contain Calcium Oxalate:
According to vets and doctors, calcium Oxalate is the leading cause of kidney and bladder stones in humans and pets. Calcium is a healthy ingredient and having tons of health benefits, but overeating can lead to kidney and bladder stones. If your dog has stones history, then feed them less-acidic and more dilute urine diet.
For Example Wheat germ, sweet potatoes, beans, and soy products spinach, Rhubarb, Grits, Beets, Almonds and cashews, Okra, etc.
Potatoes And Sweet Potatoes
Potatoes and sweet potatoes are potassium-rich vegetables.
Just one medium-sized baked potato contains 610 mg of potassium, whereas one average-sized baked sweet potato contains 541 mg of potassium .
Fortunately, some high potassium foods, including potatoes and sweet potatoes, can be soaked or leached to reduce their potassium contents.
Cutting potatoes into small, thin pieces and boiling them for at least 10 minutes can reduce the potassium content by about 50% .
Potatoes that are soaked in water for at least 4 hours before cooking are proven to have an even lower potassium content than those not soaked before cooking .
This method is known as potassium leaching or the double-cook method.
Although double cooking potatoes lowers the potassium content, its important to remember that their potassium content isnt eliminated by this method.
Considerable amounts of potassium can still be present in double-cooked potatoes, so its best to practice portion control to keep potassium levels in check.
SUMMARY
Potatoes and sweet potatoes are high potassium vegetables. Boiling or double cooking potatoes can decrease their potassium content by about 50%.
Tomatoes are another high potassium fruit that may not fit the guidelines of a renal diet.
They can be served raw or stewed and are often used to make sauces.
Just 1 cup of tomato sauce can contain upwards of 900 mg of potassium .
Unfortunately for those on a renal diet, tomatoes are commonly used in many dishes.
SUMMARY
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What Causes Struvite Stones
Bacteria in your urinary tract produce struvite when they break down the waste product urea into ammonia. For struvite to be produced, your urine needs to be alkaline. Having a urinary tract infection can make your urine alkaline. Struvite stones often form in women who have a urinary tract infection.
Can Dogs Eat Cherries There Are Better Choices
Cherries are a favorite early summer treat that we look forward as a sign of the sunny days to come. And, if you like to share your food with your dog, maybe the fruit part of one or two cherries would be ok. But there are better choices, such as strawberries, that are less problematic for dogs. The pits from cherries cause a serious choking hazard, and the stems, leaves, and pits contain cyanide, which is toxic to dogs. So, rather than sharing your cherries, reach for berries instead.
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How To Avoid Stone In Dogs:
If you want to keep your doggie away from a kidney stone and if your pet has stones history, then you need to follow some of the precautions to keep your dogs safe from this painful illness.
Vitamin C And Oxalate
Large doses of vitamin C may contribute to extra oxalate in urine. Oxalate is a byproduct of vitamin C metabolism. There are cases of very high vitamin C supplementation causing excessive amount of oxalate in urine and kidney damage08.
It would be difficult to ingest excess vitamin C from food, but very easy to do from supplements. Most multivitamins have at least 100% of your daily vitamin C. In addition, you might be getting vitamin C from supplemented orange juice, breakfast cereals, cough drops and supplements such as Emergen-C®. It adds up quickly!
As always, it is best to get vitamins and minerals from food instead of supplements. This is easy to do for vitamin C if you are eating the recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. One orange or bell pepper has almost your entire days worth of vitamin C. If you do choose to take supplements, I recommend limiting supplemental calcium to no more than 500 mg/day.
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Calcium Is Not The Enemy
But it tends to get a bad rap! Most likely due to its name and composition, many are under the impression that calcium is the main culprit in calcium-oxalate stones. “I still see patients who wonder why they are getting recurring stones despite cutting down on their calcium intake,” said Dr. Jhagroo. “I’ve even had patients say that their doctors told them to reduce their calcium intake.” A diet low in calcium actually increases one’s risk of developing kidney stones.
Don’t reduce the calcium. Work to cut back on the sodium in your diet and to pair calcium-rich foods with oxalate-rich foods.
The Truth On Artificial Sweeteners
Sweetness and Light
No getting around it, we Americans have a sweet tooth. Most of us eat the equivalent of 20 teaspoons of sugar a day. True, you’re probably not sucking on sugar cubes throughout the day, but you are probably downing more than your fair share of sugary cereals, snacks, sodas, ice cream .. and the list goes on and on.
For the average person, there’s nothing wrong with sugar per se, unless all the sweet foods in your daily diet are keeping you from eating and drinking the nutritious foods you need. But for people who are trying to lose weight, or have to watch their blood sugar because of diabetes, too much sugar can be a problem. That’s where artificial sweeteners can come in handy. These low-calorie sweeteners, reports the International Food Information Council, are safe to use, provide sweetness without calories, and provide a choice of sweet foods.
A 1998 survey conducted by the Calorie Control Council reported that 144 million American adults routinely eat and drink low-calorie, sugar-free products such as desserts and artificially sweetened sodas. The FDA has approved five artificial sweeteners:
- Acesulfame potassium
- D-Tagatose
- Saccharin
Kava says that since sweeteners are so much sweeter than sugar, a very small amount is needed to achieve the same sweetness one gets from sugar. “If used normally, the amounts you take in are so minuscule as to be of no concern at all.”
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Foods That Causes Kidney And Bladder Stones In Dogs
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Kidney and bladder stones are one of the severe and painful health issues among humans and animals. In dogs, there are several causes of kidney and bladder stones, which happen due to different minerals in food which lead to these stones. These stones occur when dense deposits of minerals and salts from inside the bladder and stones naturally.
The sizes of stones may vary. Some are small in size and smoothly pass through the urine without making any severe complications however, some are large and cause dire trouble for your loving pet.
We are listing 5 ingredients, foods that cause kidney and bladder stones in the dogs.
Snack Options For Kidney Stone Formers
A common question from patients is, what snacks can I eat on the Kidney Stone Diet? Paying attention to sodium, sugar, and oxalate limits can make snack time a little challenging but its important to treat yourself here and there in order to stay compliant with a healthy lifestyle. Deprivation works for some, but not for most.
We often find ourselves hungry when arriving home from work because we likely ate too little during the day. Having healthy Kidney Stone Diet-Approved snacks stashed in your desk drawer will help you stay away from the unhealthy 3pm offerings at the vending machine or your neighbors candy jar.
I also recommend having a cooler in the car where you can keep healthy snacks for those on-the-go moments. Being prepared is one of the most important things you can do for yourself while managing a healthy lifestyle. Having a nibble on the way home usually keeps you from raiding your pantry the minute you shut the front door. I hear from patients all the time who say this is one of their biggest downfalls in maintaining long term compliance. You cannot starve all day and graze all night. Preparation is key!
To help you get your snack game in order, Ive put together a list of Kidney Stone Diet-Safe snacks to keep handy. By safe I mean snacks with lower sugar, sodium, and oxalate levels per serving. Of course, I dont endorse junk food, but I do recognize that most of us need our favorite snack on occasion.
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Kidney Stones & Popcorn
Fact Checked
Kidney stones are hard deposits that can be composed of calcium oxalate, calcium phosphate, uric acid or struvite crystals, according to the Langone Medical Center.They can range from harmless to painful to eventually causing kidney failure. A healthy diet can lower your risk for developing more stones, and popcorn can be part of a diet for healthy kidneys.
Everyday Foods That Can Cause Kidney Stones
Health Check Certified By:
Your kidneys play a vital role when it comes to filtering waste out of the body. Each day, these organs on either side of the spine, filter more than 200 quarts of blood and 2 quarts of waste products before its flushed out of the body via urination.
Obviously, healthy kidneys are essential for proper detoxification. However, certain foods can cause kidney stones and keep these organs from functioning optimally. Here are 15 foods that encourage kidney stone development
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How Are These Stones Diagnosed
Your doctor will do one or more of the following tests to help diagnose the cause of your symptoms, and find out if you have struvite stones:
- Blood tests. Your doctor might collect a blood sample to check levels of waste products like calcium and uric acid that can form into stones.
- Urine testing. A urinalysis checks a sample of your urine to diagnose a urinary tract infection. The doctor might perform a culture on that sample to see if your urine contains bacteria.
- 24-hour urine culture. For this test, you collect all of your urine in a 24-hour period. Then a laboratory checks the culture for stone-forming substances like calcium, oxalate, and uric acid.
- X-ray. Radiation creates a picture of your kidneys and other organs in your urinary tract.
- CT scan. This test takes X-ray images from many different angles to produce detailed pictures of your urinary tract.
- MRI scan. A powerful magnetic field and radio waves make detailed pictures of your urinary tract.
- Intravenous urography. This test uses X-rays and a special dye to look for problems with your kidneys, ureters, and bladder.
Bitter Gourd For Kidney Stones
Fact Checked
If you have kidney stones, you may experience pain in your back or abdomen, bloody urine, vomiting or fevers. Some of the characteristics of bitter gourd, also known as balsam-pear or Momordica charantia, may lower your risk for developing kidney stones. Ask your doctor or nutritionist whether you should include it in a balanced diet for preventing stones or relieving symptoms.
Most kidney stones are hardened formations of calcium phosphate or calcium oxalate. Even if you are lucky enough that your kidney stones pass without symptoms, your risk for developing kidney stones is higher if you already have a history of stones, according to the Langone Medical Center. Other risk factors are a family history, being a male age 20 to 50, being pregnant, and becoming dehydrated. Proper nutrition can lower your risk for more stones, and bitter gourd can help you stick to recommendations.
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Reduce Intake Of Added Sugar
Sugars, syrups, sucrose, fructose, agave nectar, cane sugar, honey, processed foods, drinks, etc., are generally not good for health, especially in people who are at risk of developing kidney stones.
Lemonade, limeade, and fruit juices are rich in citrate and help prevent kidney stones. But make sure these juices do not have high sugar levels.
We have discussed the common food that can predispose you to develop kidney stones it is equally important to know that few foods are also helpful in preventing kidney stones.
What Do I Eat When I Have Kidney Stones
Diet and Calcium Stones. Drink plenty of fluids, particularly water.. Eat less salt. . Have only 2 or 3 servings a day of foods with a lot of calcium, such as milk, cheese, yogurt, oysters, and tofu.. Eat lemons or oranges, or drink fresh lemonade. . Limit how much protein you eat. . Eat a low-fat diet.
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Oranges And Orange Juice
While oranges and orange juice are arguably most well known for their vitamin C content, theyre also rich sources of potassium.
One large orange provides 333 mg of potassium. Moreover, there are 473 mg of potassium in 1 cup of orange juice .
Given their potassium content, oranges and orange juice likely need to be avoided or limited on a renal diet.
Grapes, apples, and cranberries, as well as their respective juices, are all good substitutes for oranges and orange juice, as they have lower potassium contents.
SUMMARY
Oranges and orange juice are high in potassium and should be limited on a renal diet. Try grapes, apples, cranberries, or their juices instead.
Processed meats are meats that have been salted, dried, cured, or canned.
Some examples include hot dogs, bacon, pepperoni, jerky, and sausage.
Processed meats typically contain large amounts of salt, mostly to improve their taste and preserve flavor.
Therefore, it may be difficult to keep your daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 mg if processed meats are abundant in your diet.
Additionally, processed meats are high in protein.
If you have been told to monitor your protein intake, its important to limit processed meats for this reason as well.
SUMMARY
Processed meats are high in salt and protein and should be consumed in moderation on a renal diet.
Pickles, processed olives, and relish are all examples of cured or pickled foods.
Usually, large amounts of salt are added during the curing or pickling process.
SUMMARY